House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) criticized Vice President Kamala Harris’ decision to skip Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s joint address to Congress today as a “terrible symbolic gesture” and predicted that she would “pay a price for it politically.”

Johnson made the comments in an interview with Jewish Insider on Tuesday evening while discussing plans for Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, to preside in Harris’s absence. The House speaker said he viewed Harris skipping the joint session as “more than unhelpful, it’s unconscionable. It is an affront to our most strategic ally in the region at its most desperate time of need.”

“I think it’s an inexcusable political calculation that Kamala Harris has made. I think she’ll pay a price for it politically, and I think she should. The idea that you would boycott right now, to me, is just beyond the pale. They had to rest on Sen. Cardin to sit in the chair, who’s retiring from the Senate. I think that sends a strong message to the voters, and it’s quite sad,” Johnson said. 

Harris opted against presiding over the joint session, something then Vice President Joe Biden did during Netanyahu’s 2015 address. She will instead meet with Netanyahu later this week. 

Johnson said he hopes Netanyahu uses the joint session, his fourth time speaking before Congress, to “emphasize the importance of America’s resolve and support of Israel, particularly at this most desperate time for that country.”

“They’re fighting for their very survival as a nation. I obviously assume that will be a big theme of the speech. Also we’ll hear the truth about the situation on the ground there, and the status of the war, and where the prime minister believes that may be headed,” he added in a preview of the remarks. 

“There’s a call right now for strong and steady leadership on the part of our nation, and that has simply not been provided by the Biden-Harris administration. So we’re very anxious to get to the election and to get new leadership, and I believe a second Trump administration would be a completely different situation. It’s a long time between now and then, but I think this address is timely and important, and I think Congress needs to hear directly from the prime minister about all this,” Johnson said. 

Asked about the foreign policy disputes taking place in both parties, the Democratic Party on Israel and the GOP on Ukraine and U.S. involvement in conflicts abroad, Johnson pointed to Sen. J.D. Vance’s (R-OH) speech last week at the Republican National Convention as he accepted the vice presidential nomination. 

“I think J.D. Vance answered it in his address at the convention. He noted that thoughtful debate is the best part of our tradition, and that it is healthy and good for our system for us to have thoughtful discussion and dialog about these big decisions and what our role should be on the world stage,” Johnson said. “I do regard myself as a Reagan Republican, and I believe in that principle of projecting peace through strength. I think JD does as well, and the fine points of foreign policy are things that we’ll talk about and have deliberate discussions about in the days ahead.”

Vance will not meet Netanyahu this week, nor will he attend Wednesday’s address, a source familiar tells JI. The Trump campaign pointed to his absence as a result of “duties to fulfill as the Republican nominee for Vice President.” 

The source said the Ohio senator will watch the speech at a later time. Trump campaign senior adviser Jason Miller told JI that Vance “stands steadfastly with the people of Israel in their fight to defend their homeland, eradicate terrorist threats, and bring back their countrymen held hostage.”

Johnson said: “I don’t see any lack of resolve from any Republican right now about this critical issue, we all stand for Israel. Every Republican in the House has voted in favor of Israel and most of the Democrats have not. And I think that’s telling. The record speaks for itself.”